Fallen Leaves

Award Winning films from Cornwall Film Festival

Fallen Leaves | Dir Aki Kaurismaki | 2023 | 1h 21 min | Finland / Germany | Comedy-Drama / Finnish (with English Subtitles | CFF12A

Fallen Leaves tells the story of two lonely people (Alma Pöysti and Jussi Vatanen) who meet each other by chance in the Helsinki night and try to find the first, only, and ultimate love of their lives. Their path towards this honourable goal is clouded by the man’s alcoholism, lost phone numbers, not knowing each other’s names or addresses, and life’s general tendency to place obstacles in the way of those seeking their happiness.  

Award-winning filmmaker Aki Kaurismäki (Le Havre, The Other Side of Hope) makes a masterful return with FALLEN LEAVES, a timeless, hopeful and ultimately satisfying love story about two lonely souls’ path to happiness – and the numerous hurdles they encounter along the way. Set in contemporary Helsinki, and shot through with Kaurismäki’s typically playful, idiosyncratic style and deadpan humor, this tender romantic tragicomedy is a timely reminder of the potency of movie-going from one of cinema’s living legends. 

Winner of the Jury Prize at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival.

This gentle tragicomedy, was previously thought to be lost from Aki Kaurismäki (Shadows in Paradise, Ariel, and The Match Factory).   

'Love represents the possibility of transcending – or at least surviving' - Sight & Sound  

'The Finnish film-maker’s sweet-natured odd-couple romance fills you with a feelgood glow and laughs in the face of Putin’s threat to the country' ★★★★ The Guardian

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